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Big Announcement to Celebrate Ten Years of Can Am Spyders

The unique ride of the Can-Am Spyder is teasing a big reveal on June 2nd, celebrating a decade of the three-wheeled bike roaring down global roads.

Noting ‘the open road is paved with surprises’ Can-Am will celebrate its first decade with a special announcement on Facebook. June 2nd at 7PM EST. The announcement appears to kick an event titled ‘Valcourt 2017’, set in hometown of BRP and Can-Am Spyder and located in the heart of Québec’s Eastern Townships in Canada.

The Can-Am Spyder is a three-wheeled motorcycle manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). The vehicle has a single rear drive wheel and two wheels in front for steering, similar in layout to a modern snowmobile. The Spyder was developed by Can-Am on the heels of snowmobiles and personal watercraft and whether called a roadster or trike, it brought a unique take on riding to North America in 2007.

Valcourt 2017 will feature tours around the Spyder’s design and manufacturing facilities as well as five rides over the three-day event in the surrounding countryside.

According to parent company BRP, there are more than 150,000 Can-Am Spyder riders around the world, but when the company rolled out its vision of riding on three wheels, the idea wasn’t widely accepted. At the time, bikers who took the route of trikes faced pushback from those who preferred two-wheeled ‘motorcycles’.

Many considered the beauty of Spyders and trikes as being able to attract people who would otherwise dismiss the thought of riding a two-wheeled motorcycle, for whatever reason. Regardless, whether from the efforts of BRP marketing or simply more riders turning to trikes, three wheels have become a familiar site in today’s riding world. Of course, an irony to the Spyder story is Polaris’ Slingshot.

It could be said BRP did much of the work of bringing three-wheeled vehicles into the motorcycle mainstream, only to have Polaris introduce its own ‘roadster’ in 2014. In the first few years of its introduction, the Slingshot not only took much of the three-wheeled sales, it was even outperforming the very motorcycle brands Polaris built.

Through a series of corporate missteps and recalls, Slingshot sales have slowed over the last eighteen months, conveniently leading up to the tenth anniversary of the Can-Am Spyder. The surprise announcement from BRP could involve major model changes or updates, drawing even more riders into the unique three-wheeled saddle. Anyone who has spoken to a Spyder owner know they are as avid as any traditional biker.

Courtesy of Can-Am Spyder's official instagram

As mentioned, BRP states there are over 150,000 Spyder riders, with just over 100,000 built. One assumes they’re including those who regularly ride on the back to get to the larger number. It appears to be an infectious ride as well, Spyders are found in 112 countries around the world, laying down an average of 5,000 miles a year.

Remember that theory of three-wheeled vehicles attracting those who would never consider a motorcycle? BRP says 14% of the people who’ve bought a Spyder are completely new to riding.

All this builds on the excitement created by the BRP marketing team around the big reveal coming to the motorcycle on June 2nd by what else but Facebook.